In a difficult-to-watch scene in The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo, after fleeing from Boromir’s attack and attempt to take the Ring of Power, realizes that nothing will ever be the same. Now, setting out alone in a vast, cruel world, he faces a chasm between himself and Mt. Doom. He reached his point of no return.
Yet, despite fear and the unknown, he presses on. Why? His mission is too critical. His purpose is too important.
Do we ever feel like Frodo? Of course. We’re humans in a broken, ever-changing world. We’re not like robots hardwired in a world of preordained fate determined by the gods. Indeed, we often feel like Frodo. Perhaps it’s realizing past misunderstandings can’t be rectified, or failures continue despite our best efforts. Maybe it’s anxieties gazing across a dark horizon of bad options. We all face such moments of gloom, staring out into the vast unknown.
However, the Christian, above all, may rest in our sovereign God while holding securely to hope for the future despite current conditions. Why? Because God is good, not fickle. As Os Guinness says, we are neither optimists nor pessimists but hopeful realists. A hopeful realist sees a situation for what it is, trusting the best outcome will come in time, regardless of the situation and the circumstances surrounding it. This isn’t about finding a balanced medium between optimism and pessimism. It’s pulling back the curtain from psychological categories to say, “Let me see as I am seen.”
This is biblical faith. A hopeful realist sees difficulty and disappointment yet trusts a good answer is coming, even if not now. They look beyond the situation to the One who works all things for good, and they fear Him rightly. They follow dark, murky streams to their source, where pure, refreshing water gushes freely. They trust God–the giver of all and the worker of all good things.
The Bible shows such faith in Genesis. God called Abram, likely a pagan, from Ur of the Chaldees to be the father of the Israelites and recipient of the promised Seed (Galatians 3:16-18). In Genesis 22:1-2, God tested him: “Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.'” In agony, Abram obeyed, demonstrating faith in “fear and trembling,” as Søren Kierkegaard said. God responded, “…for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
How Does This Apply Today?
God uses circumstances to test us (James 1:2-4; 12). These tests don’t reveal our faithfulness to God—He knows all things (Hebrews 4:13). Instead, they show us where we stand (1 Corinthians 3:12-13; 2 Corinthians 13:5) before God. As we live, God’s work in us becomes evident. Trust Him. Daily read, pray, reflect, and, by God’s grace, apply His love and truth to your life and those around you. We preach miles and grow inches.
Back to Frodo: He couldn’t throw the Ring into Mt. Doom. He failed, slipping it onto his finger mere inches from completing his treacherous task. He lacked the strength. Yet, it was Gollum’s lust for the Ring that led to its destruction. Even Gollum had a part to play.
Like Frodo, we slip the Ring on daily. This is the very reason we need someone from outside our world to save us, redeem us, and sustain us by His grace. Only Jesus Christ, the God-man, could.
Even Abraham failed. We fail. Yet, God doesn’t. He enters, takes our place, and offers Himself to redeem us. We receive this free gift of grace and walk in its power.
Will you walk in the power of the grace of God deployed through the Holy Spirit because of the gospel of Jesus Christ?
God help us, amen.
— July 30, 2025